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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — clever
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. face — to confront
  8. race — humankind
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. capital — a city
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. snap — to click
  17. race — a contest
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pit — in a race
  22. face — to point toward
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com